


The Best You Get

by Angelwire



Category: Original Work, Skullgirls
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), POV Female Character, POV Original Character, POV Original Female Character, Romance, Sexual Content, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-06-22 02:54:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15572124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelwire/pseuds/Angelwire
Summary: When the Skullgirl's rampage doesn't stop at Lab 8, Princess Parasoul sends her personal agent to try salvaging the situation. In the aftermath, what should have been business as usual slowly begins coming apart at the seams, until nothing is as it once was.





	1. One Girl's Misfortune is Another Woman's Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I'd like to thank you for clicking on this fanfic. If you're here then you probably were already able to overcome any initial distaste at seeing a heavily original work on a website like this, but I'd still like to take the time to assure you that you're not about to walk into the sort of embarrassing mess that makes people utter the word "fanfic" with disgust.
> 
> As a dedicated author already, I have a penchant for creating characters and building narratives, and roleplaying with friends is no exception. What you're about to read is an adaptation of such a roleplay that I participated in with my dear friend Ellen. I dedicate this and all further chapters to her.
> 
> In any event, welcome to Act 1, Scene 1.

Moderate alert level. The Skullgirl was out there, and each Lab in the Canopy Kingdom had its part to play. The stress of knowing that her target, the one she’d been trained all this time to defeat, was out there had ASG Unit ‘Marshmallow’ on edge. Lab 6’s Director had always been a rather distant instructor, cold and impersonal, someone she instinctively couldn’t form a bond with; if relations between the two were unpleasant during times of peace, then any level of national alert and the resulting increases to Marshmallow’s regimen made it even worse.

“Marshmallow,” came a gentle voice, urging the young girl back to reality. This latest exercise had prevented her from paying attention to her name – or designation, rather – being called. Her head turned towards the source, a moderately youthful lady adorned with a stereotypical lab coat over a less conventional bodysuit.

“Dr. Winslow!” she exclaimed, characteristically forgetting herself around the one adult in the Lab she hadn’t learned to become lifeless with. “I’ve been doing the best I can, honest, but the new programs Director E.M. has us doing are so booooooring. When are you gonna play with me again?”

“I’m sorry hon, I’m just here to say that I’ll be stepping out of the Lab for a couple hours,” Winslow said, knowing how that’d make the girl feel. “It’s the opposite of playing with you, I know. I’m sorry. And I can’t even make it up to you by offering to buy you candy or something, since that’s just redundant… Well, they say it’s the thought that counts, right? I'll be back by tonight."

Marshmallow’s reaction was first one of childish disappointment, which she felt bad over once the kindly doctor had stepped out of sight once again. Afterwards, her heart was filled with awkward appreciation. Constantly busy or not, longwinded or not, Dr. Winslow was very nice to her. The mention of candy did get her taste buds yearning, however. With a well-practiced mental command, her artificial parasite Whatchamacallit practically jumped to life, liquid sugar dripping from the rapidly color-shifting lollipops and forming into… a Snickers! It took a moment for the exact candy to manifest, as Marshmallow was indecisive.

Sometimes, seeing or thinking about the nature of her own weapon, her _partner_ , made Marshmallow laugh. The world seemed to have been slowly bled of its color and happiness for her over the years spent in this Lab, and Whatchamacallit’s innocent veneer felt like a morbid contrast, even if the girl couldn’t put those feelings into words nearly so eloquent. At the very least, she could appreciate it for what it was, and that her life could still have some cartoonish joy in it.

As if to provide the most cruel and ironic punctuation to her thoughts possible, disaster struck just as Marshmallow took the first bite of her Snickers. Sirens pierced the air at uncomfortably loud volumes, noises Marshmallow had been trained to heed by numerous drills, but no amount of training could allow a person to react in time.

In the next brief moment, a terrifyingly powerful shockwave ripped through the reinforced concrete building, knocking Marshmallow down entirely. Director E.M.’s words echoed in her head, but given that they were about the same volume as in real life, the sounds of devastation quickly drowned them out. All her training amounted to nothing. She was ashamed, in some distant corner of her mind, but those feelings were also drowned out.

Even as the lights flickered and quickly faded out entirely, even as the pitch darkness was replaced with natural sunlight let in through the torn carcass of a Lab, Marshmallow desperately searched for a way to keep herself safe. The room she was in held many devices for use in ASG training sessions and simulations, but none of them really stood out to her as ‘things that would be safe to hide in/under’.

Sunlight soon yielded to a sickening blue coruscation. Concrete and steel that had once been merely broken apart now succumbed to an overwhelming heat, and Marshmallow’s nerves were struck even deeper into panic at the distant sensation of such a blaze.

Finally, to her nearly delusional relief, Marshmallow found a secure, insulated cabinet once used for temperature-sensitive materials, and ensconced herself within. Not ten seconds after she felt her pulse begin to slow and breathing return to normal did an unworldly voice reach her ears.

“All our opposition have been dealt with. Valentine, take us to the next target. Furthermore, I need not remind you of my earlier words, shapeshifter.”

The brief emergency call that made it to Princess Parasoul’s office was cut short as one final conflagration enveloped Lab 6.


	2. Metal Carcass, Sleeping Seed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 2
> 
> Enter Lady Hecatomb.

Too many things assailed the Princess' attention - and resources - at once. That emergency call from Lab 6 hailed the beginning of a sustained assault, one with too much momentum to be deflected, and one that seemed uncannily capable of penetrating their security systems. Before Princess Parasoul was able to mobilize her forces sufficiently, Lab 8 was hit next, and reports started coming in that Valentine of Lab 0 was involved somehow. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

Even as the Black Egrets assembled to deal with the fallout of the Skullgirl's rampage, Parasoul feared the losses quickly accruing. The lost Labs contained essential data and equipment, things she would desperately desire to have scavenged from the ruins, but her focus had to be concentrated on the Skullgirl herself. Before moving out, however, she made the decision to try not to sacrifice anything or any _one_ potentially left behind. Princess Parasoul put in a call of her own.

The recipient arrived within minutes, a speed allowed by her nearby estate and policy of constant readiness. The first Skullgirl sighting only heightened the level of preparation expected of her, yet this agent had not been called in until now. Parasoul was not afraid of this woman, nor was she incapable or particularly unwilling to pay her prices. She herself had little idea of what made interactions or even giving orders to this particular agent so distasteful, in fact. All the same, Parasoul went against her own unspoken desires in relying on this person. Such was her desperation.

Entering her secured office was a tall woman, fair skinned and blue eyed, with curly, dark brown hair falling to her shoulders. Her fashion was explicitly formal with a personal, feminine twist; black suit jacket atop an ungodly-soft white shirt, excessively frilled and spilling over her chest where the jacket was opened. The outfit was completed with matching black pants, a pair of dress shoes, and a simple black and grey fedora, something she always thought looked better on women.

"What are your orders, my Princess?" she asked, voice sterile and devoid of basic human warmth. Parasoul could suddenly remember at least one good reason why such interactions were unpleasant.

"Lady Hecatomb," her superior nodded in acknowledgement, "the Skullgirl's blitzkrieg is requiring immediate response from all our standard personnel. Given that we lack the manpower to even begin salvaging the destroyed Labs or search them for survivors, I'd like you to travel to Lab 6 immediately and escort any living ASG soldiers or scientists to safety. In addition, I expect an assessment of intact data and equipment while you're there."

After a moment of silence and an unreadable expression, Hecatomb responded, "You're sending me on cleanup duty? With the Skullgirl still advancing?"

"Was I _unclear_ , special agent?" came Parasoul's question, sounding less like an inquiry and more like a warning. Cleanup duty was all she could entrust in this moment to someone she knew so little about, and given her need to go out and lead the Egrets in the next thirty seconds or so, disagreement was not an option. Hecatomb, at least, recognized this.

"No, sir."

She left the Princess' office in much the same way she arrived, hardly even giving off that feeling of palpable displeasure when one is forced to cut an argument short and walk away. Parasoul put the entire interaction out of her mind, content that at least her orders would not be disobeyed, and focused herself on the task that lay ahead of her.

The walk to the underground parking lot where she left her vehicle was spent in silent, invisible dissatisfaction for Hecatomb. At the same time, she felt at least a little proud of herself for maintaining professional behavior in spite of that _and_ the headache she'd been having to deal with all morning. Said headache was probably exacerbated, not comforted, by the loud music she enjoyed driving to, but that didn't stop her from putting it back on as soon as her car started. Excessively noisy, vehicle-and-racing-related eurobeat filled the air as she pulled out of the lot and onto the connective ramp.

Her target was on the outskirts of New Meridian. Was quite a drive, and no amount of music could push out her thoughts on the situation, thoughts that were allowed to stew in an otherwise idle mind. Having her biggest chance at combat be arbitrarily denied didn't sit right, even though she was obviously still considered worth hiring in _some_ capacity. If not for that, Hecatomb almost would have been convinced that the Princess of her own kingdom had it out for her.

One of the first things to bring Hecatomb's mind back on target was the voluminous cloud of smoke rising from the distance. She figured that had to be from the destroyed Lab she was heading towards. Given the reports she received, the other Labs located in or near New Meridian were probably in similar shape. For that reason and the general fact that relying entirely on a smoke plume to find your way was dumb, Hecatomb's GPS was still her biggest guide.

Things only got worse the closer she came to her destination. The air was getting unpleasant, and distant reverberations informed her of the ongoing destruction caused by the Skullgirl elsewhere in the city. Destruction she was not being called on to stop. Finally, what remained of Lab 6 came into view - a charred carcass of concrete and steel, torn apart by intense forces. She couldn't imagine anyone or anything of value really surviving this kind of power, but she had a job to do. At least the air didn't seem unbreathable.

After stepping out of her car and circling around to assess the situation, her first obstacle became apparent: all conventional entrances were collapsed. The best option seemed to be manually clearing debris from what she discerned to be the least impassable path, but that presented its own problems. It had had a decent amount of time to cool off, but several portions of the collapsed Lab still appeared to be smoldering, and it was enough collectively to seem dangerous. Hecatomb wasn't sure she could slot in enough required secondary traits to handle this all at once.

With a sigh of resignation, she arrived at her best compromise. She'd need to allow her skin to get damaged to avoid being horrifically burned. Having decided on it, she drew on the parasite embedded into her back, forced out the traits she needed. Greater strength to move debris, shock resistant internal tissue and bone to help deal with the increased strain on her body, and highly insulated skin. Moving things would be possible like this, and the heat wouldn't cook her alive even at its worst, but she'd probably suffer a good number of cuts and abrasions in the process.

Once she'd readied herself, Hecatomb forced the parasite to become inert again, as was her standard procedure. Then came the task of actually making a clear path into what little remained of the structure. It was slow, tiresome, painful work, and for potentially no payoff, but these were her orders. Chunks of blackened cement and twisted heaps of metal abraded the palms of her hands with each effort expended, and over the course of minutes, the area had become passable again, even to the point that one could be reasonably sure of nothing falling on one's head on the way out. A good touch, on the off chance someone miraculously survived this, she thought. It would cool off more easily like this too.

Having made it inside, her next job was to comb through the place. She first seemed to have emerged in the Lab's cafeteria, though if there was burned food in here, its smell was overpowered by worse things. After examining the area to be sure she missed no survivors, Hecatomb moved on, occasionally needing to move things aside again. Her hands were starting to bleed at this point. If the matter of survivors was not urgent by nature, she would have stopped and allowed herself the luxury of slotting in a regenerative trait, but there was no time to spare on that.

The next recognizable room seemed to be a training area for ASG soldiers, along with some barely-intact hallways and one storage room. This was the least damaged of anything she'd seen up 'til now, but that wasn't exactly saying much. Everything was scattered and in disarray, heat having scored practically everything in sight. As she moved along, corpses began making their appearances, some having been ripped to shreds or crushed, and others simply having succumbed to the volcanic ambiance. Hecatomb could intellectually recognize this as a morbid sight.

Soon enough, most of the area was picked through, with no survivors or salvage apparent. Before moving on through the passageways to other parts of the Lab, Hecatomb decided to backtrack to the storage room and make sure she hadn't missed anything. It was surprisingly intact even compared to its surroundings, and she surmised that its specialized construction helped to resist the withering temperatures. It was fairly sparse, populated with toppled shelves and objects, everything from bottled chemicals to safely sealed materials. At the back of the room, meanwhile, existed a row of highly insulated, upright containers. Hecatomb wasn't sure what they were originally used for, but it was worth checking out, so long as she wasn't about to dump something toxic on her suit.

Before she got close enough to actually open one, however, the compartment slid suddenly open, and a small figure lunged outwards. Something between a scream and a battlecry was on her lips, giving Hecatomb just enough warning to react. She sidestepped the unexpected attack, not hampered enough by the strewn materials to be rendered immobile, and what appeared to be a young girl with a pair of lollipops sticking out of her hair candy-side-up flopped unfortunately to the ground. This had to be a survivor, one of the newer ASG units having been developed here.

"What are you-"

"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH IT!!" the girl's scream interrupted Hecatomb's attempted question. Strange liquid seeped out from her lollipops, forming into an oversized lance of... what appeared to be crystallized sugar? Its construction was haphazard and asymmetrical, but those jagged edges still promised harm.

Pulling out her available traits, Hecatomb quickly stored her insulation away and altered her skin to resist slashing and piercing effects. The environmental heat's sudden effect on her was jarring enough to distract her a bit, and in that moment, the ASG soldier launched her attack. Her motions were frenzied, as if driven by primal instinct and white-hot rage. Or at least, that was the impression of the agent who did unexpected 'battle' with her, trying to minimize damage from the girl's erratic strikes.

In spite of Hecatomb's calm - or perhaps more accurately, cold - attempts to communicate, her opponent didn't seem to be listening. She _was_ , however, responding, spouting off strings of words that the older woman could make little sense of. It gave the impression that this girl wasn't thinking straight, and that she was trying to get revenge for what happened to the rest of the Lab or some such. If her mental state weren't so unstable, that would be enough to work with, but as it was, Hecatomb started being forced to focus on combat.

A glob of syrup quickly condensed and launched towards the floor at Hecatomb's feet, splattering across the myriad objects strewn about and hampering movement considerably. That meant no dodging now. Having had the clarity of mind to at least see that her previous weapon wasn't working, the young soldier took a little more time and formed something new. At first, it just looked like she was making a can of Coca Cola, something which utterly baffled the agent she'd just been locked in a deathmatch with. Her next creation was an unhealthy volume of Pop Rocks, and which immediately deposited into the opened soda can. Closing the lid back up and shaking violently, the girl then proceeded to throw it awkwardly in the general direction of Hecatomb's face.

Several seconds of dawning realization that this girl was probably trying to create an explosion of some sort, along with frantic efforts to dislodge herself from the syrup on the floor, culminated in Hecatomb's freedom. The Cola-Bomb went wide, thankfully missing her face quite safely, and much less safely, was set to detonate itself in the presence of a bunch of unknown chemicals. Hecatomb cursed the girl's lack of rational thought before diving towards her, tackling her to the ground. She, of course, took that as an attack, and struggled desperately to get the older woman away.

Hecatomb barely managed to shield the two of them from the resulting explosion and chemical bath, hastily pulling out her parasite's large, scythe-like claws and arranging them between herself and the Cola-Bomb. Dangerous compounds quickly began filling the air in the aftermath of that. Having given the girl pause by obviously saving her from the consequences of her own attack, Hecatomb quickly got up and urged her to cover her mouth and follow close behind.

She wasn't heading for the exit, however; that path was coated in both syrup and chemical sludge, along with being the source of the noxious vapors. Instead, Hecatomb plunged all four of her parasite's claws into the metal wall, carving out a way to escape. Given the material used in construction, she placed her bets on this damage not causing it all to collapse on their heads, and while she wasn't sure about it, it seemed like the best option. All the young girl behind her could register, in the meanwhile, was that this woman she just tried murdering had saved her, then immediately began tearing through solid metal to get her out.

Once the section of wall was separated, Hecatomb launched it away with a swift, strengthened kick, causing it to fall over and skid several feet before coming to a halt. The two of them then emerged from the storage room into an adjacent hallway, taking greedy gulps of air now that they didn't need to hold their breath anymore. Seeing as how that would soon change, though, Hecatomb knew they had to keep going. She turned to her young charge, retracting the claws now that they weren't needed.

"We need to leave," she spat out, not bothering to pay attention to her tone. "Come on."

"But what about the-?"

" _Later_ ," Hecatomb interrupted the question. She didn't care to allow someone she'd been ordered to save any further exposure to potential toxins. To the girl, however, it all came across as hostility, calling to mind the worst moments of her Director and the scientists she was beholden to. It was a minor miracle that she stomached those feelings and followed Hecatomb from that point, but her instincts knew she had to leave, one way or another.

The agent lead their way out of the ruined building, ever thankful for the extra effort put in to make these avenues secure. It didn't take long before the two were safely outside, panting and exhausted from the whole ordeal. Once they were outside and near Hecatomb's car, the young girl, in her impatience, spoke first.

"You're the lady who came around a couple months ago," she noted between breaths, trying to at least act a little nicely towards someone who rescued her. "I didn't mean to get- get all freaked out at y-"

"I'm sure," Hecatomb agreed flatly. "I can imagine what lead to that reaction, so let's just get to business. What is your identification?"

"I-" the girl hesitated, before saying in a noticeably diminished tone, "ASG Unit Marshmallow."

"Are you familiar with the circumstances of what's going on?"

"Well the uh, the Skullgirl attacked?" Marshmallow replied, voice tightened.

The truths of the situation were starting to sink in as she looked out at the destroyed husk of Lab 6, and the utter lack of anyone around besides herself and Lady Hecatomb. More than that, the shame she had previously felt in hiding rather than fighting came to the forefront, making this even harder than it otherwise would have been on her. She didn't want to think about the idea that everyone from the Lab was just... gone, like that. And that she had even the tiniest chance of preventing it if she weren't a coward.

"Labs 6 and 8 have been destroyed," Hecatomb proceeded to update her clinically, "and the Skullgirl's attacks haven't stopped. I was ordered to find survivors. Given the state of the rest of the building, I estimate no one besides you made it out alive. I will now contact the Princess for further instructions."

As the woman pulled a cell phone out of her car's glove compartment, Marshmallow stood where she was, rocking in place a bit as she desperately tried not to cry in front of what amounted to a stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooo there we go, a proper beginning to the story
> 
> if you were wondering: yes, hecatomb listens to the Initial D soundtrack. she has the entire thing burned on cds and stored safely in her car. it makes her feel cool while driving her unnecessarily expensive car


	3. Stopped Before She Started

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 3
> 
> Princess Parasoul's orders bar both Marshmallow from her revenge and Lady Hecatomb from the action, unwilling to show weakness as her own desperation steadily grows.

The report came in at the worst possible time. Everything was a hectic blur for her, coordinating her Egrets both on site here and via radio for the more distant platoons. Parasoul could hardly keep up with it, but at no point did her image of a stalwart, level-headed princess break. Not until word from Adam came back that Umbrella was missing. Her heart almost stopped entirely when she received that news. Part of her - a _huge_ part - wanted to break off as many units as she could to start a dedicated search for her little sister in this chaos, but the fact of the matter was that there weren't even any units she could spare. She knew that far too well.

"Get in coordination with all other units," Parasoul ordered him, barely restraining herself from yelling it over the com. "Start searching for her, and look wherever you think she could be. We'll have everyone be on the lookout, but their current missions-" her voice nearly broke, "-they need to continue focusing on their current missions. Parasoul out."

Cutting the transmission to Adam now left her 'alone', surrounded by Black Egrets who would obey her every order, who would gladly risk their lives to save Princess Umbrella, and Parasoul was completely unable to do anything further. She gritted her teeth together, as if the unpleasant sensation would focus herself better, and launched back into the task at hand.

Remote surveillance was doing its best trying to track both the Skullgirl's movements and those of her undead minions. The shapeshifter was nowhere to be found, just one small mercy amidst this carnage. With new information on a rising of zombies, Parasoul's hand would fly to the transmitter and redirect a nearby group of Egrets to the scene. Status updates, reinforcement orders, retreats to resupply and redirections to cover the gap; the Princess' mind was spinning with everything she'd been having to keep track of all this time. Then, with the hint of a new trajectory for the Skullgirl, her own unit would move to intercept, necessitating juggling all these details whilst driving. Even rescue operations were limited to a bare minimum in the wake of so many enemies to fight.

"Commander!" Molly's voice cut in over the line. Parasoul's heart jumped at the irrational hope that this would be news of her sister, but that hope was very quickly dashed as the girl continued. "We have word from Special Agent Hecatomb here."

Part of her wanted to simply dismiss or ignore this, especially given how much was already on her plate, but Parasoul knew that an admirable leader should be able to handle this much. She couldn't look like she was starting to lose this.

"Patch her through to me," the Princess ordered snappily as her unit came to a halt at a deserted intersection.

Lady Hecatomb's report came without fanfare, or even introduction. She gave only the briefest summation of details, that Lab 6 had nothing immediately salvageable and only one survivor, and Parasoul listened to it while silently tracking the data on her screen. Multitasking was also a necessary trait in an admirable leader. Once Hecatomb had finished speaking, the Princess quickly asked who survived.

"ASG Soldier, Designation: Marshmallow," her agent answered calmly. "Potential toxic chemical exposure and psychological trauma. I do not recommend using her."

Just her luck, she couldn't get another piece to play yet. The Skullgirl was just about to start moving again, though, and it looked like her unit was going to be avoided once more. Without wasting any further time, Parasoul gave her her next orders.

"Take Marshmallow to a hospital, then head to Lab 8," she practically spat out before cutting the connection. Parasoul couldn't afford anything more specific, but she hoped that some usable ASG soldiers would be found at Lab 8, maybe even enough to allow her to split off some Egrets to search for her sister. With that thought on her mind, the Princess and her squad raced off down the road once again.

Meanwhile, outside the ruined remnants of Lab 6, Marshmallow began channeling her negative feelings the only way she knew how: unhealthily, directed at others. Didn't help to hear Hecatomb speak so coldly of her, so disrespectfully towards her desires to get revenge. Marshmallow's heart was practically burning now, out of shame and so many other things, none of which she could actually articulate.

"I'm going out there!" she declared once Hecatomb's phone call seemed to be finished. "I don't care what someone like you says about it! Take me out there!"

Hecatomb, clearly dissatisfied herself, denied the girl. "Princess Parasoul wants you taken to a hospital. That's the only place you're going."

Marshmallow wanted to run away and get to the Skullgirl herself, in some irrational corner of her mind, but she knew that wasn't the right way to do anything. She'd been trained to obey superiors, after all. Even if it wasn't enough to make her utterly submissive to an order like this, it did get her to play nicely with people who were supposed to be allies. All she really had left was trying to sway Hecatomb away from her own strict obedience, then.

"It's not fair not letting me fight too," Marshmallow started, and even she could tell that that was the wrong line to take, so she went at it from a new angle. "There's just no way anyone can do this alone! Everyone should be fighting together, and that includes me! Plus, what's it matter that she said no? Even princesses can be wrong about things."

Marshmallow thought she sounded very practical there. Granted, it was a little dissonant of her to try and get someone else to disobey right after deciding against just flat-out running away, but that didn't bother her too much.

Unfortunately, Hecatomb thought she simply sounded like a brat who wouldn't take no for an answer. A girl who'd been exposed to toxic chemicals and probably had some trauma to work through was in no good condition to fight Skullgirls, especially at that age. Marshmallow's other words sank in a bit more effectively, however. Or rather, Hecatomb's mind didn't bring up any immediate negations to the idea of her immediate superior being incorrect sometimes, and left it there. She had a good enough reason to refuse Marshmallow's requests already.

"Look," she began, "you're not going to be of any use if you end up hurt due to chemical exposure. We can't just-"

"Well what about you?" Marshmallow pointed out, incredibly smug in the idea that maybe she'd trapped the older agent for once here. "We were both in there when the place started stinking up."

"And only one of us has the ability to ignore such effects," Hecatomb retorted. Given that her current set of traits were regeneration and heightened toxin resistance/filtration, she was recovering from the ordeal as they spoke. That didn't translate to being able to _ignore_ anything, of course, but the girl didn't need to know that. The fewer questions about Ziz, the better.

Marshmallow's face scrunched up in unrestrained frustration at having her last real card shot down. She was also worried about tearing up again, facing down the possibility that she'd be forced to go through this with no way of getting back at the Skullgirl for what she did to her family, and no way to ease her guilty conscience. The fact that she couldn't actually resolve or even talk about any of her frustrations was the real kicker. She hurriedly rushed to the other side of Hecatomb's car, hoping to be able to wipe away the few tears leaking out before the older woman could notice.

Hecatomb wanted to just be satisfied at the seeming acquiescence, but things continued prickling at her brain. She'd obviously been upsetting the girl, though she couldn't understand much of why beyond the likely desire for revenge. Moreover, these were just more delays, more things keeping her away from being useful. No, being _uniquely_ useful. She wanted to stand out for it, even if not publicly.

All the same, she buried those feelings and joined Marshmallow in the car. With her focus on her own thoughts and on the act of getting out onto the freeway to the nearest hospital, it took her several minutes to notice the girl's state. She looked like she was trying to keep herself together, and Hecatomb wondered briefly if Marshmallow had already been crying a bit and she just never noticed. That all worried her. She really wasn't cut out for consoling people, and her job was just getting the girl to a doctor right now. That's all. She didn't take responsibility for anything else.

So why was she starting to _feel_ responsible, here?

Hecatomb glanced over at the girl at her first opportunity, car moving at a steady pace along the freeway, and things were about the same. She looked miserable. She looked like she needed a hug, moreover. Hecatomb didn't want to bite off more than she could - or should - chew, but that wasn't enough to let her restrain herself.

"Look, the- the facts are the facts, but that doesn't reflect badly on you," she said, trying and failing to make her voice sound comforting enough. "We'll all get through this. Once the Skullgirl's dead, Lab 6 will be avenged."

That wasn't what Marshmallow needed to hear at that moment, not truly. She wanted to survive, she wanted the Skullgirl to die, but somehow Hecatomb's words just felt more like salt in the wound. That everything would progress just fine, with or without her, that was what stung most for the young ASG soldier. Her training, her entire _purpose_ was to fight the Skullgirl, and not only had she passed up on the only opportunity she's had so far to do so, but she was not even truly needed for it. That's all Hecatomb's words conveyed to her.

It was fairly apparent that the attempted encouragement didn't work, and the rest of the drive was spent in silence. Eventually, the hospital came into view, which soured the atmosphere in the car even more. Neither of them, however, knew what to do about it. Once she'd arrived at the main parking lot for the building, Hecatomb pulled up near the entrance.

"Will you be alright alone?" she asked, regretting the idea after just a moment's consideration.

"You're going to leave? Where?"

She paused momentarily. With a sigh, Hecatomb pulled over into a legitimate parking space and turned off her car. "I can at least accompany you inside. Tell the doctors the situation."

Marshmallow seemed to want to say something more, but no words passed between them as they exited the vehicle and made their way to, then through, the hospital doors. Being reasonably responsible ate up more time, during which Hecatomb had to explain things to the medical personnel. Given how packed the place was with injured civilians, it would take a while for equipment and space to be available for Marshmallow's tests, especially since she didn't seem to be an urgent case. As the girl sat down on an unoccupied bit of floor, Hecatomb remained standing.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here with you," said she, only the slightest bit of emotion audible in her voice. "Are you going to be okay here alone? Is there someone I should call?"

"If- if Dr. Winslow is- do you know who she is? The nice lady I saw you visit that first time, her. Um, do you know if she-" the girl cut off, not wanting to even think about the idea of the only nice person in her life not having gotten away in time.

Hecatomb nodded. "I'll see if I can find her. I'll need to step out to use my cell phone."

As the woman turned to walk away, Marshmallow spoke up again, surprising even herself. "Um, Lady Hecatomb... am I going to still be needed? After all this?"

That question blindsided her completely. After her earlier lack of success, then this, Hecatomb began to wonder if there was something much different going on in the girl's psyche than she suspected. Frankly, it was a question that she could understand on some level herself, and she tried to think about what she'd want to hear under these circumstances. What Marshmallow _needed_ to hear. In the end, it was a hypocritical thing to say, but she thought it was the right answer.

"You don't need to be needed by a cause to be worthwhile. Try to keep that in mind."

The finality in that statement allowed Hecatomb to leave the hospital without further comment. Even though the woman was motivated by a nebulous desire to make herself seem valuable, she still knew that statement was true. She was just very bad at applying it to her own life and mindset, almost laughably bad even, as evinced by her continued dissatisfaction with her assignment.

After stepping outside and noting the beginning of a light drizzle, Hecatomb pulled out her phone and dialed Molly up.

"It's me. Marshmallow's in the hospital."

"Oh, Lady Hecatomb," the overly excitable girl exclaimed, "should I patch you through to the Pr-"

"No, no, just stop," Hecatomb insisted, shaking her head. "Have we had any contact with Dr. Barbara Winslow of Lab 6? She might have left the Lab just before the attack occurred."

"Oh, well, I can look for you, sir! Should I have her call you if we find her?" Molly asked.

"No, send her to the hospital off 84th. Marshmallow needs her, and the situation here could use her help anyways. And... Molly?"

"Sir?"

"What's the situation like over there?"

It was an unnecessary, time-wasting luxury to ask for when she was supposed to be speeding off towards Lab 8, but something in her had to know. She didn't even know what she was feeling at the moment. To make  _whatever_ it was a little more bearable, she began walking towards her parked car as Molly rattled off the status of the Skullgirl and her various minions. It was about what she expected, even though hearing about it while not being there was aggravating. What she wasn't expecting, however, was the fact that Princess Umbrella was reportedly missing.

Hecatomb was not an overly emotional woman, or at least she didn't think of herself as one. Certainly not many people that she knew, or perhaps anyone, would say that of her. Yet this one added detail pushed her thoughts in just the right direction for cold, soulless logic to stop dictating things for the moment. Princess Parasoul was fighting a deadly battle to contain the Skullgirl's influence, one during which her own sister was missing, and she still had her agent playing clean up at some destroyed Labs? Such thoughts swirled in Hecatomb's mind, and then a certain young girl's words came back to mind.

_"Even princesses can be wrong about things."_

Thanking Molly for the information and starting the car, Hecatomb indeed began speeding off to her destination. This destination, however, happened to be downtown New Meridian, rather than Lab 8.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, i fight through the anxiety of "what if everything's flimsy as shit" to try making things as good and consistent as possible. i can only hope my worries are as irrational as they always are
> 
> i also hope the chapter lengths are satisfactory for everyone? and that people are finding this enjoyable, in spite of the rather slow start. guess you could say this one's a long haul, but it'll be worth it in the end


	4. Jaunt, Interrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 4
> 
> Lady Hecatomb aims to rejoin with Princess Parasoul. Other parties aim to prevent that.

Having access to security codes made things so much easier. After tapping into the Black Egrets' unit tracking system to get a good idea on where to find the Princess, Hecatomb disabled it on her own unit. Getting a call from Molly about apparently disobeying orders was something she wanted to avoid, as was relying on her to find anyone in the first place. Aside from that bit about Dr. Winslow only half an hour ago, that is.

The city of New Meridian itself was far less cooperative than Royal Intelligence systems, however. GPS navigation was practically useless with all the streets rendered impassable in some fashion due to collapsed buildings and heaps of rubble. If it wasn't intentional on the Skullgirl's part, then it sure was inconvenient. Hecatomb found herself getting quickly frustrated by the lack of avenues for her car to travel down. It only took a couple of instances of this for her to come to the decision that reaching the Princess and convincing her to let her help search for her sister was more important than taking her car along the entire way.

Having already resolved to make it the rest of the way on foot, her car was quickly abandoned - the location secluded and out of harm's way, she hoped. Separating herself from the onboard systems would leave her without further updates on the Princess' location unless she tapped back in on her cell phone, which posed its own set of problems. Hecatomb simply had to hope that no one was paying enough attention to her to notice that she'd disconnected herself, which was likely, what with the Skullgirl on a rampage like this.

Luckily, Hecatomb soon found her ingress and began worming her way around rubble and through intact alleys in the direction she'd been given by the RIT. It also helped that the Skullgirl was so damn loud that Hecatomb could track a general direction just by listening in. The Princess wouldn't be too far behind unless the plan changed dramatically between her last contact and now. Using the same traits as at Lab 6 trivialized moving into or through most areas she was considering, though obviously the worst places were still utterly barred from her. _That_ was all easy enough. It was harder to think about what she'd say once she got there, how she could even explain herself, what she was even feeling.

On any other day, the loud crashing noises coming from the distance would have brought Hecatomb's mind to a laser-focus, but the fog of her own contemplation still hung heavy. She was abandoning a task given to her, one that was fairly necessary if there was even a _chance_ for someone to have survived at Lab 8. She was doing it without announcement. She was, of her own accord, rendezvousing with someone who didn't even seem to want her around when not necessary. All of this, why? She couldn't stop thinking about that. Hecatomb recognized her own willingness to suck it up and do as she was told before hearing of Princess Umbrella's status, and that somehow made her act like _this_.

It confused her. She never met Princess Umbrella, not for real. Been in the same room once or twice? Sure. Spoken a word, perhaps? Yes. Hardly enough to give her an emotional attachment, in her own views. Was it... about Parasoul, then? Hecatomb, again, didn't know how she felt. Beneath her professional demeanor, her desire to keep the Canopy Kingdom safe, and the subtle resentment building up between her and her employer - it was enough to wrack her brain over. Was she doing all this just to put herself in the spotlight before her sovereign? The idea of something as childish as that motivating her sent a pang of shame through Hecatomb's stomach.

"Oh here we go, here we _go_! Awooooooooo!!" a masculine voice called, and then howled, from the side, where this alley briefly connected freely to the street beyond. Hecatomb, completely blindsided by a noise that wasn't indicative of distant Skullgirl-related combat, twisted her neck in that direction only to see... a washed up former wrestler?

"...Excuse me?"

"Did the Wulf stutter?! You're gonna have to prepare for the biggest beatdown of your life!" Turning towards what looked like no one in particular, the man - who Hecatomb only vaguely recalled now as being named Beowulf - said, "Okay, cut for a sec. Hey, lady, you ready? Because we're, like, rolling right now. I think."

What little of the situation actually registered in her mind was drowned out by the calm, rational question of _what the goddamn fucking hell is going on why is some wrestling chump acting like I'm on TV with him is he seriously doing this I need to get to the Princess jesus FUCK_. That, of course, had no good answer forthcoming. If nothing else, seeing an overly muscular, chair-wielding furry was more than enough to jar Hecatomb out from her contemplative stupor and once again focus on the situation at hand. Even if that situation was bizarre and confusing her to no end.

"Well..." Beowulf continued, having received no reply, "I guess I'll take that... as a YES!"

To punctuate that last word, the man took a wide swing in Hecatomb's direction with his chair, barely squeezing in between the walls of the alley without scraping against them. She took a couple hurried steps back, considering how to approach the situation. He was obviously styling himself as a combatant, and was _egregiously_ getting in the way here, but the way he spoke sounded to her more like he was acting under some equally egregious misinformation rather than with actively malignant intent. Plus, she knew that no genuine assassin would be treating this like some sort of televised cage match.

This wasn't worth risking the use of Ziz, she decided. Slotting in the standard increased strength and shock absorption traits, Hecatomb leapt into melee, hoping to just overwhelm the man that way. Beowulf raised his chair between himself and his opponent's fist, blocking the attack and causing less damage than he would have liked in the process. The force of the punch dented it, too. Next was a wide kick aimed at the right half of Beowulf's midsection, which he was only able to partially brace himself for before receiving that impact.

More importantly for him, though, his arm was now wrapped around Hecatomb's leg, keeping her off balance as Beowulf transitioned into an attempted throw. Hecatomb didn't weigh much, but even then, getting her airborne was easier than he expected - and then, in a short display of acrobatics, the agent pushed off the ground with her palms and righted herself again. That explained it. Recognizing that grapples and throws would be largely ineffective if she could just do _that_ , Beowulf changed tacks and brought out Grendel's arm.

From seemingly nowhere. Hecatomb certainly hadn't noticed him lugging such a thing around, and now a clenched Gigan fist was aimed straight at her. Having had no way of anticipating that development, the hit landed, sending her tumbling out the mouth of the alleyway. That thing was _severed_ , too. Hecatomb had little idea how it wasn't reanimating with the Skullgirl so close, and even less idea where he was hiding the damn thing. If she wanted to end this quickly and without beating him into the pavement in the process, then... maybe just once.

That massive arm was gone again, and Beowulf, having retrieved his chair, seemed to be eager to get back into close quarters. Given that she'd already demonstrated greater strength than his, Hecatomb figured that he was likely using the flurry of attacks to make an opening for the arm to come out and complete his combo, or some such. Beowulf's motions made it obvious that he was a _wrestler_ , rather than a martial artist, so fending them off on their own was not too difficult if Hecatomb concentrated on it. However, the stress of needing to watch for his intended opening kept her on her toes.

Beowulf indeed moved into his next attack at the first opportunity presented, but it wasn't that Gigan arm. For whatever reason, he made a tight-swept circular swing with the chair and then... stood on it? The man's arms crossed, then, and a series of kicks with each leg in succession were leveled at Hecatomb's jaw. The first pair of hits were blocked, and the rest missed entirely, Hecatomb having quickly widened the gap between them. Beowulf, for whatever unknowable reason, was still kicking into the air like it was a performance.

"What- what the _hell_ are you doing?" she asked, practically stunned at the sight.

"Keeping the Wulfpack entertained! AWOOOOOOOO!!"

With that, Beowulf wasted no time diving off the chair towards his opponent, arms outstretched. Given her sheer general confusion, he had a genuine opportunity here, and he used it to grapple her once again. Before Hecatomb could try to escape, she found herself flung forward, right at the stationary chair Beowulf had just left. Both she and the uncomfortable seat failed to remain upright in the wake of that, something Hecatomb was quick to rectify in spite of her newly sparked headache.

Beowulf, feeling confident at this point, stood in a photogenic and lofty pose, only breaking back into a combat stance once he saw that his opponent was once again standing. Said stance was not enough to prepare him for having his own chair hurled recklessly at him, though. This forced him into bringing out Grendel's arm just to block it, but Hecatomb had been hoping for that, and was already following close behind.

She didn't quite reach her target before Beowulf noticed the incoming follow-up, and Hecatomb found herself the target of another massive straight punch. That was also something she anticipated. Sidestepping the attack, one of Ziz's four claws briefly lashed out, fast enough that it would be hard to visually register what happened. Grendel's arm was barely even nicked, but that was enough. Through that minuscule contact, Hecatomb inserted one of the traits stored within Ziz - in this case, heightened density/weight - into the arm.

The effects were immediate. With a surprised yelp, Beowulf was forced to drop his weapon on the ground, cracking the concrete as a result. Then, giving him no time to catch up, Hecatomb sent a kick at the man's torso. He was sent a foot or so back, stumbling and dropping to the ground. He wasn't completely out of this yet, though, it seemed.

"Izzat... all you got... jabroni?" he managed to get out, clutching his stomach as he moved to stand back up.

Stepping closer, Hecatomb steeled her gaze at him. As far as she could tell, this had been a _huge_ waste of time, but in case it was something more than that, she wanted answers. She never was the type to be above manipulating to _get_ those answers, either.

"You're lucky no one's around to have witnessed your assault of one of the Princess' agents," Hecatomb noted coldly, coming to a stop.

"Hey, it wasn't assault!" came his indignant protest. "Didn't we plan this all out in advance? My people called your people, badda bing badda- _wait_ , did you just say-?"

"Princess Parasoul's personal agent, Lady Hecatomb," she finished for him. "Yes."

"...Thaaaaaat's definitely fishy. Zayn told me he set everything up for us just right; he didn't say anything about a Royal agent. I'll call him and straighten this out right away!" His attempt at retrieving a cell phone was stopped dead in its tracks by a sleazy voice from off to the side.

"Hey, no need!" said a sleek, well-dressed man walking towards the both of them. He flashed an overconfident grin as he continued. "Beowulf, babycakes, sweetheart! I appreciate you takin' the dive for this sweet lady, but you were supposed to _win_."

"Okay, first of all," Beowulf replied, folding his arms across his chest, "I didn't take a dive. She's crazy strong, and _somehoooow_ made Grendel's arm mega-heavy? But second of all, what's with this screwball set-up!? We apparently didn't even get the right competitor! If we had an actual camera crew out here, this woulda been career suicide!"

Zayn's smile twitched subtly before he let out a calm, collected laugh. "I think we can write this off as one big misunderstanding, babe. We see a lady walking around right where the show was supposed to be, looking exactly like your real opponent - can't blame me for jumping to conclusions."

Hecatomb's expression deepened into what was practically a scowl as she took in Zayn's words. "I look exactly like someone else you were supposed to fight in the middle of this desolate, evacuated city? That's unbelievably convenient."

"Come to think of it, you never told me how you're actually setting up these matches in the first place," Beowulf noted aloud, still sounding more confused than suspicious, "or where you're finding any of my opponents. _And_ none of the camera girls actually looked like they were holding cameras! I'm starting to think something's- ARF!"

Before he could complete his thought, a massive orange fist slammed down on the wrestler's head, one which clearly belonged to - or at least was physically connected to - his supposed talent agent. Beowulf muttered something about 'hard cameras' before slumping to the pavement, seemingly unconscious. Zayn then turned to face Hecatomb alone. Slowly, his entire form bloated and peeled itself downwards, sinking back beneath a well-kept outfit. That gruesome sight revealed a nun, eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer.

"Defiling maggot," her voice warbled as she opened her eyes, "you attempt to interfere in matters you do not understand. This intrusion will not be tolerated."

" _Maggot_?" Hecatomb growled in response. The shock of being confronted by the shapeshifter, of being targeted by her specifically, kept Hecatomb from coming up with any witty one-liners to spit back at her. Instead, she resolved to simply grind this creature into the ground as quickly and brutally as she could.

Specializing her active traits towards safely utilizing as much strength as possible, Hecatomb slammed her foot down massively onto the pavement, utterly ruining her right shoe in the process. A sizeable chunk of concrete was dislodged intact from the street below, which Hecatomb, in her next motion, kicked and sent flying at the shapeshifter.

The nun, however, was quick to react. As if it were the easiest thing in the world, she dissolved once again into a puddle of _something_ on the ground, allowing the huge chunk of road to sail harmlessly above her. When she reformed, it was with an entirely new appearance, that of the first ASG Soldier ever created: Black Dahlia. Quietly and with an unnatural smoothness, she oriented her hand cannon in Hecatomb's direction.

"Tremble before us," she intoned, opening fire.


	5. A Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 5
> 
> Intending to lay a trap, Double retreats to the Grand Cathedral. Hecatomb, armed with knowledge of their enemies' hideout and Umbrella's location, redoubles her efforts to find and inform Parasoul of the situation.

The cacophony of heavy gunfire rang through the air, immediately proceeded by a metallic keening, as if some enormous iron glass had been tapped repeatedly to make a toast. Bullets whizzed in all directions, finding purchase in the dense concrete of the road and buildings surrounding this pair of fighters. Beowulf, somehow, lay completely unharmed where he had fallen; Double, cloaked in the guise of Black Dahlia, came out with several bullet holes, all of which quickly closed themselves; and Hecatomb was surrounded by a shimmering field almost akin to a heat mirage. She was completely unharmed, if looking a bit panicked.

For a moment, everyone was still as the scene settled in. The confusion passed quickly, and with it, that stillness. Double could guess that the only force able to deflect metal bullets - oh, cursed be, that she did not form herself into non-magnetic materials for that attack - had to have been electromagnetism. She also knew that she had little time to ponder this further. She had to keep the pressure up, and without resorting to metals that are or could be magnetized. Molding her form again, she quickly assumed the likeness of the Feral, Nadia, whom Hecatomb had never seen before.

While slotting in the EM shield trait had been a necessary defense to keep herself from being excessively perforated, Hecatomb could only internally swear at the absolute knowledge that her phone - and thus her only tie to the outside - had been utterly _bricked_ by that strong of a field. There was a positive to all of this, however: the shapeshifter had no clue about her limitations. Such a showing would likely give the impression that bullets were entirely ineffective, and seeing that monster take on the shape of what seemed to be a Feral, Hecatomb concluded that this assumption was correct.

She was given little time to congratulate herself, however. Removing her own head, the shapeshifter sent it flying towards her opponent. The spray of blood seemingly propelling it only added to Hecatomb's distress at the sight. With a grunt, she tried deflecting the grisly projectile with her forearm, but that contact simply allowed the head to latch on with its teeth, still alive and easily able to move. Capitalizing on that, the rest of the body followed, lunging in at its prey with unnatural stretchiness. Unable to maneuver properly with a detached head gnawing at her arm, Hecatomb was tackled to the unforgiving concrete. In a split second decision, she decided that this was starting to warrant using Ziz again, in spite of her worries at how frequently she'd been relying on it today.

"Get _off_ me," she growled, punctuating the demand with a sudden incision from one of Ziz's claws as it snaked its way out. As expected of the shapeshifter - and perhaps also of this feline she took the form of? - the attack did no real damage. After receiving and recovering from the hit, Double reverted into a pseudo-liquid form to make distance between the two of them. In that way, it accomplished what Hecatomb wanted: getting the monster off her. In another way, landing that hit allowed Hecatomb to start looking at the creature's trait list, but it was practically incomprehensible.

" _You_!" the shapeshifter hissed, coalescing back into the form of a nun. Her expression this time was one of fury, not piety. Then, as if restraining herself through higher judgment, Double paused herself from saying anything further. After becoming fully composed, she sneered, "Your sins run deeper than we could have ever anticipated, child, for you consort with a demon."

By now, Hecatomb had been given ample opportunity to stand back up again, and decided to leave the matter of _whatever_ Ziz was registering for after the life-threatening battle was over. More worryingly, the shapeshifter's words somewhat rang true for once. That, and they implied that this creature recognized her parasite. With about a million possible things running through her mind, Hecatomb gave her best effort to focus on what was right in front of her. If the shapeshifter was backing off from direct combat in favor of talking, then she would respond in kind for the moment.

"I know that much," she spat, obviously in contempt of that which she'd been using as a weapon, "but something tells me you know a lot more. Where did this thing come from?"

Double's face twisted into a devilish smirk. "Surely there are many things you wish to know, young Agent of the Crown. Including... where dear Princess Umbrella might be located?"

Hecatomb, stomach twisting inside her, gritted her teeth at the implication. She  _had_ been hoping that Umbrella wasn't simply trapped under rubble somewhere, suffocating to death, but this might have been even worse. Furthermore, the fact remained that if the shapeshifter was saying this so freely, it must have been beneficial to the Skullgirl to do so, she reasoned. But that didn't make the information inaccurate, necessarily. Even if it was a trap, Hecatomb felt like she needed to try something, and the Princess needed to know.

"What did you do to her?" Hecatomb said as calmly as she could muster, though it still came out sounding like a growl.

"Such sinful impatience," the nun chided. She might have sounded almost maternal, were it not for the tinge of vitriol in her voice. And the fact that it echoed ominously and was of such an unnatural pitch. "Knowledge must be earned. We will await you at the Grand Cathedral; do not keep us waiting."

Without allowing the opportunity for further attacks, or even a simple retort, Double collapsed her body again and slipped away between the cracks of a nearby pile of rubble, ensuring that Hecatomb would be unable to follow directly. The woman who remained - alone, except for the yet-unawoken Beowulf - clenched her fists in useless frustration. Trying to piece together what was going on seemingly lead nowhere for her, try as she might.

First, it was obvious that the shapeshifter, and the Skullgirl by extension, knew about Hecatomb and didn't want her to interfere. They also didn't seem to know all the details about her possession of Ziz. And now, that monster seemingly wanted to tempt her into a trap by offering knowledge about that parasite, on top of basically admitting that they kidnapped Princess Umbrella. Princess Parasoul needed to know all of this, and they _needed_ to work together. She was more convinced of this than ever, especially given the shapeshifter's terrifying nature, implied by what Ziz picked up on.

Beowulf had been out for a while, she suddenly realized. Unlike in fiction, someone being knocked out for long periods of time was usually cause for extreme concern. More specifically, it usually meant brain damage. Moving to his side and kneeling down, she did her best to examine him, lack of medical expertise and all. He'd definitely been bleeding a bit onto the concrete, but scalp wounds were always like that. That, at least, wasn't at a worrying level. After placing her fingers to his neck, she confirmed that he still had a pulse and everything - and then he snored loudly, turning over onto his side.

" _Seriously_?!" an exasperated and relieved Hecatomb exclaimed, giving him a forceful shove. With a start, the previously asleep wrestler jolted to wakefulness, sitting up and looking around in confusion.

"WE'RE LIVE!" he shouted, likely a remnant of his dreams, before blinking twice. "Hey, where'd Zane go?! And why does my head feel wet and-" Beowulf winced, "- _ouch_ , hurt so much?"

"Zane turned out to be the shapeshifter associated with the Skullgirl, in short," Hecatomb informed him, chilling herself back down to her business attitude. "It clobbered you."

"...Man, I don't even have anything witty for that," the man chuckled, gingerly rubbing the back of his head before wincing again.

"You should keep the wit, and everything else, to a minimum for right now," she prescribed, standing back up. "Try to find one of the Egret camps around here, get some medical attention. Maybe pray you don't have any brain damage."

"Yeah, I uh- I think I'll do just that," he agreed, slowly and shakily getting himself to stand upright. "Thanks, lady. And, uh, I'm really sorry about the... whole assault thing, you know-"

"Don't worry about it." _And don't waste any more of my time_ , she mentally added on. "I need to find the Princess. Farewell."

Seeing the special agent leave in such a hurry, Beowulf could only stare after her. His thoughts, jumbled as they were, finally came to rest on the conclusion that he was glad things worked out. And that she wasn't angry at him. That too. Several deep breaths and ill-advised jumping jacks later, Beowulf felt confident enough in his own legs to start heading out for treatment. It was only upon trying to pick up Grendel's arm from the pavement that he remembered what happened to it: Hecatomb made it way heavier somehow, and forgot to fix it.

"Oh, come on, buddy!" he pleaded with it aimlessly, then sighed. "Ugh, now I'm really wishin' I remembered this before she left."

Steeling himself for a long day ahead, Beowulf braced himself against the road and began steadily hauling the now-weighty limb along with him.

Hecatomb, meanwhile, could hardly concentrate on moving one foot in front of the other, occupied as she was with keeping Ziz from waking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooooof there we go, brand new chapter. apologies to anyone who still gave a shit about this for the long delay. sometimes, when energy runs low, you have to prioritize. ill try to be more consistent about it


	6. No Other Way; or, A Near Demotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 6
> 
> With Lady Hecatomb's arrival and the news of Umbrella's true peril, Princess Parasoul resolves to take matters into her own hands, and her hands alone.

Nothing was going right for her. Princess Parasoul had long since understood that delegation was a necessity as a ruler, and delegate she did - to the expectation that things would get done. Especially at so crucial a time as a _Skullgirl attack_. However, rather than solid results, she found herself accumulating more and more failures. Umbrella going missing was only the start of it - an unbearably cruel start for one overprotective elder sister. On top of that, the city of New Meridian had been ruined to a sickening degree over the course of the day, and not only did she have a front-row seat to the carnage, powerless to truly stop it, she also shared that seat with a cadre of Black Egret officers. Every shockwave echoing through the city struck a blow to the Princess' ego that her subordinates only aggravated, in spite of everyone's best efforts.

The sudden digital disappearance of her special agent had been a momentary frustration, just one more thing adding itself to the pile. As far as their data indicated, there had been no current danger in that area, so the Princess reasoned that something else had contributed to the anomaly. Even still, the most minute inconsistency was bound to make things worse for a woman already straining herself to an unhealthy degree. Having the Skullgirl herself _also_ disappear from right under their advanced tracking technology was an anomaly ill befitting her Royal forces, she felt. The result of these factors adding up inside her was a barely maintained facade of stability put on by Parasoul for her subordinates.

"Pull Unit B-4 out of the area!" Parasoul repeated herself to Molly over the radio, her voice betraying notes of increasing desperation. "With the Skullgirl's disappearance, we can afford to slow evacuation efforts. _Find_ _her_."

_And find my sister_ , she would have given anything to say. Parasoul, knuckles white from the tension, could barely prevent herself from outright shaking as events continued to unfurl around her. Repetitive mantras and self-assurances cycled through her head as she waited for the next report, tools of a woman using every trick in the book to keep giving her people the leader they needed. Trinity knows that such repetitions were better than the alternative, than contemplating what could have befallen her dear younger sister.

"Sir," the voice of a rank-and-file Egret called from behind her. His footsteps rapidly approaching, the Princess turned to acknowledge him.

"What-" she began, tone far snappier than she intended. Clearing her throat, she continued sternly, "What do you have to report?"

"We've come into contact with Special Agent 'Lady Hecatomb', sir."

Suppressing the irritation of being personally addressed with that rather than news of her sister, Parasoul simply gave him a look. "What's her current location, then? Did something happ-"

The Princess' words cut short as her eyes strayed off the Egret's masked face, landing solidly behind him and onto the form of the swiftly approaching Hecatomb. Parasoul had been expecting her agent to have encountered a group of Egrets tasked with evacuation, perhaps giving a reason for the radio silence, but she was _here_. While it was possible for something strange to have happened, Princess Parasoul's mind immediately went to a place of anger, rather than waiting to see what brought her agent here.

"What are you _doing_ here?!" Parasoul snapped, unable or unwilling to continue moderating herself anymore. "I gave you your orders already. You'd better have a good explanation for what brought you so far beyond the bounds of your mission."

Hecatomb was about as visibly taken aback as she'd ever appeared to be, before. That is to say, it still amounted to less shock than most other people outwardly exhibited, but Parasoul was able to pick up on at least that much. After a missed beat, her special agent proceeded to respond, expression hardened and cold.

"I came to deliver information on the shapeshifter's whereabouts, as well as the location of and potential danger to Princess Umbrella. Sir."

That got Parasoul to stop and take a step back from her indignation, if nothing else. Having been ordered to proceed with the report, Hecatomb informed her superior of the events that had just unfolded, with minor edits made to keep herself from looking completely insubordinate. She had little idea what was going on in Princess Parasoul's heart, but she wasn't stupid; her superior was obviously not in the mood to hear the fact that she willfully forsook her mission just to try and help her some other way.

The news, meanwhile, was simultaneously a blessing and a curse for the youthful Princess. A blessing in that it eliminated the uncertainty of whether Umbrella had been lost amongst the ruined streets of the city or trapped under a pile of rubble somewhere. A curse in that their only lead turned out to be the shapeshifter herself taunting them with the idea that they had captured Umbrella. If Parasoul was on the verge before, she was about ready to break down in some form or another now. Her teeth grit together uncomfortably, fingernails digging into the soft flesh of her palms.

"The Grand Cathedral," reiterated Parasoul, digesting the location of her enemy. "Funny, a demon like that hiding on holy ground."

Hecatomb quickly began adding, "Sir, I think we should both-"

" _We_?" the Princess interrupted. "I have no reason to trust in your ability to stick to a mission right now. _I_ will save my sister with my own hands. _You_ will stay back and coordinate the mobilization of the Black Egrets, along with Molly. I want as many units as possible ready to destroy the Skullgirl once I've retrieved Umbrella. Do I make myself clear, _Hecatomb_?"

"...Yes, sir."

Parasoul had already begun tunnelvisioning. She hardly registered her men's voices as she ordered a motorcycle be requisitioned for her immediate use, and only stuck around long enough to see Hecatomb begin operating the radio in their primary vehicle. All that was on her mind at that moment was the safety of her sister, and she'd be damned if she allowed anyone else's foolishness to cost her her only family. _Not this time_ , she thought. _This time, I won't remain powerless_.

Thankfully, even when going it alone, the Princess could rely on the work of others to at least make it to her destination; impassable roads had been noted on Royal GPS servers thanks to Black Egrets mapping the terrain over the course of their work. Parasoul was able to take her circuitous route to the Grand Cathedral without much headache, though her speed had to be kept relatively low due to the erratic nature of the rubble and her choice of transport. Soon enough, the looming architecture of her destination made its appearance before her, and shortly thereafter, she'd arrived and parked herself at the foot of its steps.

 "Damn-" Parasoul grunted, heaving herself impatiently off her bike, "-both of them."

Her feet made contact with the weathered stone below. The sight, juxtaposed with her own memories, struck her. _How many times have I walked up these steps?_ Parasoul silently contemplated as she began her ascent. _How many times did I pray here? Now this..._

The most logical and tactical corners of her mind whirred in displeasure at her action of strolling right up the front door, alone, into the lap of her sworn enemies. Parasoul had nothing more than simple dissatisfaction, though, nothing to truly convince her of another course of action in the face of her overwhelming anger, her desperation, her sisterly love. No other plans in her mind even began to allow for Umbrella to be saved. She needed to be taken out of the Cathedral before her Egrets could even make a move - at least if she wanted to treat them as anything more than a meat shield, and of course she did.

With a loud creak which held the promise of centuries behind it, the ancient, storied doors of the Grand Cathedral opened to allow Princess Parasoul Renoir passage. On the far side of the cavernous interior rested the statue of Queen Lamia which she'd grown so familiar with over the years, and right beneath it was the _monster_ whose guise, whose very  _existence_ mocked said goddess, even whilst kneeling in prayer. Gritting her teeth and reassuring herself that she could handle this, Parasoul crossed the threshold and strutted forward with all the regalness in the world. Double, in response, stood and turned to face her guest.

"My my my, isn't this a mild surprise," the faux-nun began, not bothering to conceal her inhuman voice. "We expected to see you accompanied, young daughter of Queen Nancy. Or perhaps you feel yourself sufficiently adult, to be left without a chauffeur?"

Brandishing her trusted weapon Krieg, Parasoul retorted, "Sufficiently adult to grind you to dust, demon. Now where is she!?"

"Oh dear~" Double chuckled, "such confidence for a commander without any men. Unfortunately, we are as yet unconvinced. You will need to show greater aspect than mere showmanship in order to rescue your beloved little sister."

"Then I _will_ show you," Parasoul declared, pride and wrath at once etched onto her features as she burst into action. Leading off with a sprint, she used her movement as a feint, stopping well short of her target and swinging Krieg widely. Several napalm tears soared through the air, and before they even found their mark, Parasoul had pulled out her Luger, aiming to capitalize on any potential opportunity.

Double, however, did not take this sitting down. Shedding her disguise instantly, the shapeshifter coalesced into a form she'd encountered quite recently - a form Parasoul recognized as a famous former-wrestler, trophy-arm and chair both in tow. The napalm tears Parasoul had just launched all exploded more or less harmlessly against tough Gigan-flesh, and by the time she had an opening to take the shot, Beowulf's doppelganger had already launched The Hurting at her. Thanks to her training and quick reflexes, Parasoul was able to dive out of the way of that attack.

"You know," the shapeshifter noted aloud using a stolen voice, "you really shoulda paid more attention to what I said. Well, I guess you can't be blamed if you just assume a plural pronoun comin' from me is, like, in the Royal We sense, but..."

With perfect timing, a second foe darted out of her concealed position amongst the pews and lunged at Parasoul, exposed as she was after that maneuver. The Princcess only barely brought Krieg into position to block the weaponized IV stand as it came slamming down mercilessly at her. Then, as her assailant's identity was made clear, her eyes widened in plain shock.

"...I did _really_ mean 'we' there," finished the simulacrum of Beowulf.

"Sorry, Princess," said the masked nurse Valentine, "never said we were going to play fair, did we?"

Her mind spinning at the prospect of having been betrayed like this, Parasoul still managed to send a sweeping kick in Valentine's direction, forcing her back just in time to have Double press the attack anew. A tremendous straight-thrust from the fake Grendel's arm launched Parasoul back, knocking her into a pew and causing more than its fair share of bruises. If the Princess hadn't been pulling her Luger back out mid-air, she might have been truly caught out by Valentine's follow-up, but now, the nurse was met with a detonated napalm tear for her efforts.

_Get UP!_ Parasoul mentally urged, growling in pain as she forced herself to her feet. Parasoul could only grimly imagine her subordinates saying 'told you so' at the dire straits she was in. There was no time to be bitter about it, unfortunately, as Double quickly morphed again, manifesting a convincing - if off-color - representation of the Princess herself and aiming her own gun right at her. Again, Parasoul was forced to dive to the side just before her previous located was enveloped in flame.

"Feeling a bit feverish?" Valentine taunted. Parasoul, momentarily perplexed, had to conclude that it was a substitute for 'feeling the heat?' or something else of that nature. "Then let's prescribe something!"

Rather than go in for another direct strike, Valentine lobbed a vial of suspicious-looking chemicals at the floor near Parasoul's feet. Thinking quickly, the Princess covered her mouth and sent the vial flying with a kick, which was enough of an opening for Valentine to dive right into the fray again. Scalpels in hand, the nurse took a swipe at Parasoul, forcing her into a backstep. From that distance, both of them decided simultaneously to strike; Valentine threw her scalpels with intense precision, while Parasoul took a shot.

One of the surgical knives embedded itself deep in Parasoul's shoulder - though she hardly felt the pain through adrenaline's haze - and another struck against the Luger's barrel, knocking it slightly off target. The resulting trajectory of the napalm tear caused it to detonate right by Valentine's feet; a success all the same in Parasoul's book, as it got her closest foe to back off momentarily. Out of the corner of her vision, though, she could plainly see the shapeshifter reforming for another attack.

_This is getting bad_ , the Princess thought to herself in the precious few moments she had to do so. _If I could just take one out or_ -

The horrible sound of wood groaning under an intense stress pulled all three combatants' attentions to the entrance of the Cathedral, where a newcomer was apparently hefting one of the pews overhead - it was Lady Hecatomb.

"Focus on the traitor!" Hecatomb shouted as she heaved the relatively massive object clear across the room, its trajectory clearly leading it to an unprepared Double. Parasoul, beside her anger at having been disobeyed, could only conclude that her agent was intending to fend off the shapeshifter in the meantime. It took a moment to stomach her own pride, but the Princess indeed concluded that this was a good thing and decided to follow the lead presented her. Such things were also the qualities of a leader, after all.

"So," Double responded, her voice returning to its unearthly tenor as she evaded the projectile in liquid form, "two flies indeed caught in our spiderweb, as we had hoped. Lady Valentine! Dispatch the petulant Princess immediately. I will see to our devilish interloper."

"Aye aye, boss," the nurse caustically agreed, pulling out another set of scalpels. "One emergency surgery, coming up."

"I expect an explanation after this, Special Agent!" Parasoul warned, the grimace on her face deepening as she lunged into close quarters with her designated foe. At this distance, Valentine was forced into blocking Krieg rather than throwing her deadly devices, and it worked in Parasoul's favor, now that she had no one else to distract her. With a series of thrusts, Krieg's assault immediately put Valentine on the backfoot.

Meanwhile, Hecatomb had begun a full-blown sprint to close the gap with Double, knowing herself to be at a disadvantage if she kept herself out of range of her best offense. The shapeshifter, however, was wary; though she was unaware of the full extent of Ziz's powers, or of whether his current host could fully utilize them herself, Double had encountered this Theon enough in the past to know that she needed to avoid those claws after the first hit in a fight. She also knew that, to her own inconvenience, the current host had found a trait that made shooting bullets at her pointless.

Once again, the shapeshifter took the Princess' form, aiming to stall Hecatomb's advance with ranged attacks. And it worked, in a way; as Hecatomb recognized her opponent's likely tactic, she halted her momentum with an awkward kick to the back of the nearest pew, chunks and slivers of wood shattered from the whole and sent speeding toward Double. Reshaping her left arm into a large fleshy shield was sufficient to deflect the makeshift ammunition, but gave Hecatomb time to make it the rest of the way into melee with her foe.

Halfway across the room, Parasoul and Valentine's duel raged on, fencing umbrella versus well-honed bonesaw. The nurse's full arsenal was terrifying and effective, and she was faster than the Princess under normal circumstances, but none of it had prevented her from getting caught in this position. Princess Parasoul's stance was perfect, tight and with no openings for her enemy to exploit. Valentine could hold her own with her bonesaw, but any attempts at switching gears to something she could actually make headway with was punished with a swift thrust from Krieg or a deft, low kick.

Their combat was nothing if not an energetic affair, and the two could hardly stay in the same place for long. Eventually, Valentine had been backed into a corner by Parasoul's onslaught, but the dexterous professional hadn't been caught yet. Leaping up against the wall, Valentine pushed off it to land solidly behind the Princess, simultaneously hurling one of Hallow's syringes at her. In the action of blocking, Parasoul allowed herself a brief, hidden smirk, indication of an emotion Valentine was not privy to, and by the time the two were facing each other again, Parasoul's face was the same stolid mask as before.

This time, the Princess seemed far more interested in physically forcing her opponent back, and Valentine was eager to exploit each little opportunity such aggressiveness provided her to strike back. Several cuts were soon welcomed onto Parasoul's skin, her tight black sweater not enough to dull the edge of a medical scalpel. Valentine, confident in this being a sign of the Princess' desperation, welcomed each dance of their limbs that resulted in moving just another step or two backwards, making sure each one cost Parasoul in blood.

In a move that signaled certain defeat, Parasoul frantically leveled a kick at the nurse's midsection, one that once again caused the woman to move backwards. Valentine's certainty in her own victory grew infinite as the Princess more or less _handed her_ the ticket to getting out of range of her lethal fencing technique. Only as Valentine's foot landed in some sort of goop, rather than the hard floor she'd been expecting, did she worry for her own safety, and only in the instant before Parasoul's napalm trap detonated underfoot.

The explosion knocked Valentine forward clumsily, her leg twitching and useless, though thankfully not mutilated by the blast.  _When did she even set that up?!_ the nurse questioned herself, to no evident answer. Pushing herself up onto her elbows turned out to be a nigh-impossible task for her as well, with the muscles shaking this much. If nothing else, Valentine was able to turn her gaze upwards as Parasoul loomed over her, planting the end of her umbrella on Valentine's spine.

"If you know what's good for you," the Princess commanded, tone haughty in her victory, "then stay put. Egrets, two to my position, capture of hostile _only_ ," she then spoke into a hidden radio microphone on her person.

All while Parasoul had been executing her plan to incapacitate her own opponent, Hecatomb had been frantically trying not to die. Ziz's claws were nowhere to be seen, his host terrified of the prospect of drawing too deeply on such strength and inadvertently waking up the parasite. This allowed Double's movements to grow more and more aggressive, even as she reserved prudence for the possibility of this all being a bluff. Hecatomb, unfortunately, was not bluffing. She was _scared_. Keeping herself locked into her current trait list was the result, and it left ways for her enemy to exploit her quite open.

"Perhaps our warning scared the little witch straight," the shapeshifter mocked mid-dodge, "given how she now refutes the power of that demonic Theon. Does it  _frighten_ you, girl?"

To punctuate her question, Double slammed a large tuba-shaped fist into the agent, a weapon obviously taken whole-cloth from one of the ASG Units she'd encountered before. Hecatomb was knocked to the side, planting face-first into the floor beneath three stained glass representations of the Divine Trinity. She had plenty of time to stagger back to her feet as Double approached, a devious smirk on her lips.

"We had anticipated you to be a... concerning element, moving forward, but perhaps we misjudged you. There is yet time to offer up your penance, child. Cease this futile struggle."

"Fuck you," Hecatomb responded eloquently.

"Proceed, then, on your way to _oblivion_ ," invited Double, reverting to her true, unspeakably horrific and disgusting form. Flesh, on the hideous border between solid and liquid, bubbled and oscillated until the nun had been replaced by a ten-foot-tall monstrosity of skinless limbs, topped with what had to be a mockery of the Trinity itself: an image of Queen Lamia's crown. A single repugnant eye glared down on the comparatively diminutive form of Lady Hecatomb.

Somehow, though, in spite of the shocking sight, Hecatomb was more or less expecting this. Not just due to data from previous encounters with the thing or from her own experience, either. When Ziz's claw first grazed the shapeshifter, Hecatomb had been given a glimpse of the creature's true nature, and it certainly matched this image far more than the deceptively peaceful nun. Aside from feeling this to be fitting of her enemy, though, Hecatomb couldn't exactly parse much else.

Thinking back on her first fight with Double _did_ trigger a hunch to form, however. The shapeshifter obviously had some level of familiarity with Ziz, enough to know caution around his power, but had grown increasingly lenient in terms of allowing Hecatomb to fight - or be battered, as it were - in close quarters. She wondered whether that was truly due to not having used Ziz so far, or whether it indicated something else. Either way, if she kept up the act, she figured she might be able to goad the monstrosity into getting nicked again. The question was simply whether she could maintain her stranglehold in the process.

Double, her transformation complete, surged forward with an unsettling sloshing sound, and Hecatomb scrambled backwards in an attempt to look as frightened as possible. One of the creature's many disfigured limbs extended outwards, reshaping into a multitude of Krieg replicas, all of which discharged their incendiary payloads in Hecatomb's direction. The agent's reflexes were barely sufficient to start slotting in the proper defenses before being roasted alive, and she could almost _swear_ she felt a twinge along her back, something she was quick to forcibly dismiss as her own paranoia. There was no way to survive this otherwise. She couldn't afford fear anymore. She _would_ be stronger than this.

Without even needing to be prodded further, Double continued on the offensive, the horrific mass of her body congealing into one oversized fist aimed directly at the seemingly-tremulous agent. This would be the final blow, she was sure. The one to splatter this insect all over the walls of this sacred space. Double had still failed to detect the change in her enemy's mindset, and she lacked a critical piece of information about said enemy's powers.

Ziz could steal traits on the second hit, no matter how much time had passed since.

Bare moments before the impact, Hecatomb prepared herself. There was no dodging this. There was no cleverly sneaking a hit in. Sacrificing all else, she concentrated on survival, reinforcing herself with the greatest shock absorption she possessed and anchoring three of Ziz's four claws into the ground beneath her right as Double's fist connected. Her organs trembled with the force of the blow, graciously mitigated enough to miss the threshold of lethality. And now, she had her opportunity.

The fourth claw, in perfect timing, snaked out to spear itself into the nigh-gelatinous flesh of the shapeshifter. Given Double's bizarre constitution and Hecatomb's own lack of familiarity with it, there was no subtlety in the act; Hecatomb mentally carved away every inch of power she could, practically indiscriminate. Data flooded into Ziz, such a mass of it that it was impossible to sift through, even with the parasite's powers of instinctual understanding. For the moment, though, it would have been unnecessary anyways.

The shapeshifter _shrieked_. Her body began collapsing outright, unable to maintain itself after being stripped of all strength. With her last bit of conscious volition, Double managed to speak once before succumbing.

"You... will regret... that."

The mountain of flesh that had once been Double splattered across the floor of the Grand Cathedral.


	7. The Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Act 1, Scene 7
> 
> Enter Marie Korbel.

_She was shaking_ , Parasoul noticed, staring over at the woman who had just rendered one of their greatest persistent enemies into a pile of flesh and liquids staining the Grand Cathedral's floor. The Princess' emotions were torn in so many different directions it was impossible to parse, even for herself... so she simply didn't. Umbrella was still in here somewhere, and at the very least, she could tell her driving need to find her was still seated in the core of her present motivations. This was just another opportunity to show her agent a bit of trust - trust in her to not collapse right then and there.

Parasoul turned to a restrained Valentine, flanked on either side by a Black Egret. "Now then, traitor: unless you want things to get much more difficult for yourself, I suggest you-"

"The statue," the nurse interrupted, her typical cocky expression nowhere to be seen. "There's a hidden switch near it. The statue slides away and reveals a secret passage to the Catacombs below. The Skullgirl is waiting for you there, alongside your sister."

"...Are you trying to pull something on me?" the Princess asked after a short pause and a raised eyebrow.

"Go ahead, waste your time trying to make sure I'm not leading you into a booby trap or something. See if I care. I'm not lying to you, though," Valentine insisted. Something about her eyes, the seething fire barely staying alive somewhere deep in there, must have spoken to Parasoul. Or maybe it was just that she had nothing else to go on, and Valentine didn't exactly have much to personally gain by lying about this.

"Egrets," the Princess began, her gaze turned to her subordinates, "take Valentine into custody. Maximum security. We'll _press her_ later."

"What, no due process?" the nurse smirked.

Princess Parasoul simply waved her captive away. This wasn't the time to navigate her snark, she knew. Obediently, the Egrets she'd summoned hauled Valentine away in handcuffs, nary a single word spoken in her own defense this time. Parasoul's mind immediately leapt to her next course of action. The statue was their first lead. Best lead, too. The fact that they hadn't found Umbrella yet wasn't necessarily indicative of the shapeshifter's taunts having been lies, not yet. The Skullgirl was nowhere to be seen, but her allies _had_ been here. Parasoul had no idea what had caused Valentine's defection, but she didn't seem to hold any love for her new employers, given how quickly she surrendered this information. That meant everything was pointing to this situation being reality, and that reality meant that there was no opportunity to get Umbrella out and then order her Egrets to attack. She needed to do this _now_.

"Lady Hecatomb," she announced herself upon stepping closer to her agent, "can you stand up?"

Hecatomb, nodding emphatically, brought herself to her feet again after having rested on her knees. The woman was in an utterly disheveled and horrible state, at a glance. Her suit was basically in tatters at this point, ruined after all the blood and dirt it had been subjected to, and she who wore it was in little better shape. Numerous scrapes and worse abrasions had drawn blood from beneath her skin, though they seemed to be slowly patching themselves up.

_Relying on that parasite even after all this..._

Parasoul moved closer, crossing the sea of gore to reach the other. Seeing her knees buckle, the Princess forcefully wrapped one arm around her agent's torso, keeping her steady for the moment. Hecatomb looked like she wanted to reject the help, but she must have bitten down her pride, as her only response was to look away with a frown. The Princess took this opportunity to speak to her before anything else happened.

"Look... today's been rough between us. I know. I haven't trusted you, and you haven't been very obedient. I just want you to absorb my next question without any of that baggage, alright?"

Hecatomb's eyes returned to her employer's. "What do you mean?"

"I need to know if you can handle this," said she, tone free of judgment. "I need an honest assessment from yourself as to whether I can rely on you. Otherwise, I'll be ordering you to pull back."

"And fight the Skullgirl _alone_?"

"There have been times when a Skullgirl has been defeated by a single hero. Historically, it's not even that uncommon. Do you think I'm some _weakling_ , that-" Parasoul stopped herself. "...No, I know you don't. I'm- I apologize."

Hecatomb seemed to stabilize herself finally, able to support herself on her own two feet. She showcased this by pulling abruptly away from contact with the Princess and straightening her posture. Even looking as shabby as she did then, Hecatomb knew how to maintain her dignity. After taking a steadying breath and stretching her sore muscles a bit, the agent answered her employer's original question.

"It's under control," she asserted, her expression hardening. " _I'm_ not some weakling, either. Sir."

Extending such a plain expression of trust - in her mind, at least - wasn't the easiest thing for Parasoul to do, and the result coming out like this soured her mood. Once again, she wanted to push it all down and focus on nothing but Umbrella's safety. _I should have done so from the beginning_ , she thought, chastising herself for wasting any time on this. Having gestured her agent over, the two of them proceeded to the statue of Queen Lamia that Valentine had indicated.

"We need to find that hidden switch before we proceed," the Princess noted.

"You sure you couldn't have kept her around long enough to tell us where it was?" her agent quipped dryly.

Nevertheless, the two of them managed to find it without inordinate amounts of trouble. It was a delay that got Parasoul's heart steadily racing faster, her little sister's face appearing time and time again in the forefront of her thoughts. Sometimes, she looked pained, or injured... or worse. The release of that frantic energy as the entrance was opened before them was palpable. Parasoul hardly spared a moment to caution before marching herself down the aged stone bricks, forcing Hecatomb to follow closely behind.

Light poured into the cavernous expanse ahead of them, illuminating what would have normally been an insufficient amount of the area as a whole. Unearthly radiance made up for this lack, however; a sickly bluish-turquoise was cast on the carved stone of the walls. From the light above and below, a multitude of resting places for the dead were made visible, with some having long been emptied and others still laden with coffins or bare skeletons. The air was rank, stale, offensive to the noses of the two women who descended into these Catacombs.

By the time they'd made it to the bottom of the stairs, it became evident that they were not alone in this place. On the far side of the expanse, lit by a towering tree of cyan nerves reaching to the vaulted ceiling, was the Skullgirl herself. Bloody Marie. The girl, adorned in a maid outfit and with some sort of tacky skull-themed vacuum cleaner behind her, was seated on the ground - right next to Princess Umbrella.

Parasoul could hardly contain herself. She marched forward against Hecatomb's better judgment, against her _own_ better judgment, Krieg gripped in one hand 'til her knuckles were strained white. Marie turned her attention away from the entranced child over to the elder sister, and beheld the determination carved onto her features. Marie's expression, however, was as implacably stoic as ever, standing up to face her approaching adversaries. She had perhaps expected to receive an immediate attack, but none was forthcoming. Indeed, Parasoul's eyes weren't even on her.

"Umbrella!" Parasoul shouted. The girl gave no response, hardly even tilted her head to the source of the sudden noise. She was completely captivated. If it was determination the Princess evinced before, it was rage now. "What have you _done_ to her, Skullgirl?!"

Marie's head tilted to one side. "I assure you, I have done nothing to her. She was simply too weak to resist the Heart's call, too weak to wrest it from me herself. So, we have been waiting. In truth, she somewhat... reminds me of an old friend." The subtle smile that came to Marie's lips did little to ease the Princess' anger.

"Then let her _go_ , damn you!" Parasoul growled, raising Krieg to point it directly at the Skullgirl. "Have you no shame! Kidnapping a child to gain the upper hand over me! You didn't _need_ -"

"You are mistaken."

"And what does that mean?!" she snapped. Hecatomb took the opportunity to start edging herself closer, unsure enough about the situation not to act yet, but worried enough to start preparing for their first moves.

Marie's eyes closed, her body language suggesting a sigh that her undead physiology could no longer allow. "I told you already. It was not I who brought your sister here, but the Heart. Even now, the bond between them drains the life from her body. I am afraid that unless someone takes her place, the only way she can live... is as the Skullgirl."

"BULLSHIT! I'll DESTROY you, monster!!"

Parasoul had already been steadily losing her capacity for rational thought, blinded as she was by Umbrella's proximity to danger, by her own inability to accept any threat less mundane than a kidnapping. The thought of her sister needing to become that which she hated most, or _dying_ , made the Princess almost literally start seeing red. Hecatomb's hand reached over to the woman's arm, realizing far too late the sort of mindset she was in. It might have even worked, too, brought her back to her senses enough to get them formulating a plan of attack. All of that was dashed, however, when Umbrella's little eyelids fluttered open, staring straight at the Skullgirl.

"...Can we get ice cream, Momma?"

That was more than she could bear hearing. With a scream utterly foreign to anything heard from her before, Parasoul lunged at Marie, aiming a jab with her Living Weapon directly into the girl's eye. The Skullgirl's reactions were faster than that, however. Marie took to the air, levitating just beyond Krieg's reach whilst simultaneously calling her servants to her. From three deep recesses in the walls came three monstrous Gigan skulls, all of which were soon positioned around Marie's frail body in a protective orbit.

As Parasoul furiously tried to get a hit in between those skulls and Marie's vacuum weapon, Hecatomb's attention was on their surroundings. More specifically, she was taking unhappy note of the multitudes of undead being enthralled to the Skull Heart's power. There was little time for making decisions, and Parasoul would likely be no help in doing so. After a split-second of thought, Hecatomb decided that for now, she'd cover the Princess and keep her from being backstabbed by skeletons. That seemed like a good thing to do.

Parasoul was forced back by the Skullgirl's power - and those huge skulls - just in time to be joined by a defensively positioned Hecatomb. Her lack of success and this brief pause were, combined, enough to get Parasoul's head cleared. Relatively. For the moment. She spared a glance for her agent before turning back to the Skullgirl, who had yet to start pressing the offensive.

"I'll handle her," was all she said, throat strained.

"I'll handle the others," Hecatomb replied. "Don't worry. We'll save her."

There was no more time. Parasoul took out her Luger, unleashing several shots in a row and forcing Marie to continue blocking them. Hecatomb dashed out to the closest concentration of approaching skeletons and scattered their ranks, broad attacks cracking bone and sending skulls flying. It was almost unreal, feeling like some sort of action movie star mowing down hoards of faceless drudges... and working together for once. Hecatomb was sore down to her bones, emotionally unsure of herself, and moving dangerously close to using Ziz too much, but if they did this together, maybe taking down the Skullgirl would be-

"Hmph. You think this to be sufficient against me?" Marie interrupted her thought process, arrogance dripping off her words. "Very well. Let me show you how weak you are."

Switching effortlessly to the offensive, Marie spread her hands in front of her, beckoning the Gigan skulls to orient themselves at the pair of fighters. With a snap, their jaws opened, and sickly blue flames roared out to incinerate her foes. Hecatomb, conscious of her need to not overdue it, elected to dive out of the way of the attack rather than try to resist it directly. Parasoul simply opened Krieg and shielded her body with it, the heat flowing harmlessly off its precisely-engineered surface.

Marie's flames were unrelenting even in the face of that defense, however. Without even so much as a smirk, the Skullgirl flicked one finger in the Princess' direction, and a shadow leapt from the recesses of the Skull Heart to serve as her weapon. The next thing she knew, Parasoul's leg had been grabbed by some ephemeral, humanoid shape, threatening to drag her to the stone floor of the Catacombs. Marie, intending to call checkmate right then and there, intensified her incendiary assault.

A sudden impact then crushed into one of the three Gigan skulls, shattering it completely and disrupting Marie's concentration on the flames. Hecatomb, having been momentarily unimpeded, had leveled a devastating punch at the Skullgirl, and the resulting interruption allowed for Parasoul to retract Krieg and smash away the shadow accosting her. Marie, grimacing, turned to swipe at Hecatomb so as to force her back while simultaneously drawing on more undead minions to send forth. She was all too aware of the dwindling number of corpses available to use in this location, however, and began to prepare for another approach.

Parasoul, having started sprinting towards the Skullgirl in order to ramp up the pressure, soon found herself face-to-skull with one of Marie's two remaining shields as the girl sent it streaking towards her with one finger. The Skullgirl's unearthly voice chided her, saying, "Know your place, Princess of the Living," as her attack was only narrowly avoided by the dashing redhead.

"My place is stomping the Skull Heart under my heel!" Parasoul retorted with an aggressive growl. "And your spine with it _too_ , monster."

Just as Parasoul was able to get in close, Hecatomb decided to turn her attention back again to the encroaching horde of skeletons. Marie wasn't making it easy on the two of them to divide their efforts, though, as the unliving throngs were directed unerringly towards Parasoul's exposed flank. Seeing this, the Princess yelled, "Switch!", turning and launching a spray of napalm tears into their midst. Hecatomb followed her lead immediately, launching herself at the Skullgirl whose attention had been on dealing with the Princess.

With only one shield available to defend her at present, Marie was concerned about letting someone with that sort of physical strength get close. Hecatomb, for her part, was concerned about actually taking a proper fight to the Skullgirl while she was maintaining such a close proximity to Umbrella. As Marie quickly levitated away, Hecatomb let her go, sprinting instead to an increasingly-lethargic Umbrella and scooping her up in her arms. The young princess weakly voiced her objections to this.

"N-no... take me... back to Momma..."

Hearing her sister's voice again drew Parasoul's attention away from the undead she'd been battling, and seeing her agent keeping the girl safe was just what she needed to clear her head and stay calm. With a relieved smile, she turned Krieg back at the nearest skeleton, slamming into it and smashing it to pieces. Hecatomb, for the moment, thought it best to pull further away from the Skullgirl and back towards her employer.

"Don't insult me," Marie called out, frowning. "Do you think you can challenge me while carrying a child in your arms? I will correct your arrogance."

By now, her remaining pair of Gigan skulls had had ample time to return to their defensive orbits around her. They were once again aimed at the pair of fighters, unleashing a stream of blue flames they were forced to dive out of the way of, and Hecatomb was painfully aware of how easily Umbrella could be hurt like this. She needed to be sat down and kept safe. Luckily, she seemed too weak to move at the moment, so as long as the skeleton hordes were all taken care of, she should be fine, Hecatomb surmised.

Laying the young princess up against one of the relatively distant stone walls, Hecatomb leapt back to rejoin the battle. Marie was more or less satisfied again. Her eyes lingered on Umbrella's weakness, and after a moment of thought, the Skullgirl explicitly drew her remaining skeletons - of which there weren't that many left - towards her opponents, avoiding Umbrella's location entirely. This wasn't the sort of fight she cared about gaining advantages in. Not like that.

 "Are you ready to battle me properly, then?" the Skullgirl taunted. Her forces were steadily surrounding the pair, Gigan skulls at the ready; she was increasingly assured of having closed down any avenues of escape for her foes. Parasoul and Hecatomb looked at each other.

"Jump at her," said the agent.

Parasoul only had a moment to react before Hecatomb slammed her foot down onto the stone floor with titanic strength. Marie and Parasoul, both currently detached from the ground, were spared the shockwave that rattled bones and caused most of their rickety forms to collapse entirely. The ground itself splintered along invisible faults, reduced to powder at the impact site and faring not much better further out. The undead hordes had been more or less conclusively dealt with, at last.

The Princess' aggressive leap caught Marie's eye first. Both skulls opened their maws to roast the incoming Parasoul alive, the sparks deep within their throats promising incineration. It was not a promise to be fulfilled, though, as Hecatomb catapulted herself at the Skullgirl in the followup. Marie had no time to reorient her attacks before another punch reduced a second skull to fragments, an event which gave Parasoul the opportunity to discharge a flurry of napalm tears into the third. One series of detonations later, and the Skullgirl had been stripped of her shielding.

Forcing herself back even further, Marie switched tacks, silhouetting herself with a large humanoid shadow pulled out of the cold stone itself. More tenebrous claws seemed to scratch at the ground, _through_ it, their limbs and faces distorted almost beyond recognition. Hecatomb charged forward again, intent on landing at least one good hit in while the Skullgirl lacked defenses. Before she could get in range, though, another shadow flickered into existence between them, its arm already extended to meet Hecatomb. The agent was sent flying.

"Hec-" Parasoul called out before diving to the side. An enormous shadow-man had nearly crushed her underfoot as it collided with the stone floor, and it disappeared from view just as quickly. "Hecatomb!"

"Do you two still not understand your own weakness?" asked Marie, another pair of shadows splitting off from behind her and surging to the two fighters. The Princess was forced to dodge once again, and Hecatomb only barely managed to avoid the attack before it cracked the stone wall she'd been leaning against. Neither of them were very confident in terms of outlasting a battle like this - they needed to finish things.

Both making a mad dash towards the Skullgirl, they ducked this way and that to avoid the unrelenting assault of shadows crushing down from atop or reaching up from below. Soon, they were within reach. Marie couldn't effectively attack them both at once now, so when presented with the choice, she tried to send Hecatomb flying again with another tremendous strike. Hecatomb was prepared this time, though, and the same traits that allowed her to crush the stone floor gave her the durability to block this attack with her forearms. Marie, knowing that meant accepting a hit from the other, almost grimaced.

"This is for my sister, monster!" Parasoul declared triumphantly, thrusting Krieg powerfully into the Skullgirl's throat. From there, she forced the Living Weapon to shed napalm tears from all sides. The force of those detonations was enough to almost entirely scatter the Skullgirl's body, leaving the Skull Heart itself floating amidst a storm of bone shards.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be over quite yet, as Marie's presence seemed to continue in spite of being reduced to this sorry state. Through some malign will, what remained of the Skullgirl was still able to command the dead; splinters and fractions of bone from her defeated army began coalescing into more Gigan skulls, or at least strange replicas of them. Her desperation was obvious.

It wasn't fast enough, though.

Sharing one last glance between each other, Parasoul and Hecatomb simultaneously attacked Marie's broken body, two different forms of living weaponry battering aside the whirlwind of bone and scraps of cloth that constituted Marie. She was utterly scattered. Before the Skullgirl's final assaults could even start, it was over, and the hastily assembled servants crumbled back into powder. The Skull Heart, alone, floated in the air before them...

...revealing Princess Umbrella on the opposite side, grasping up at it.


End file.
